Saturday, September 25, 2010

"I love my dog as much as I love you. But you may fade, my dog will always come through" Cat Stevens, I Love My Dog


Most people, when trying to decide what to do with a Saturday morning, would probably not choose to wake up at 7:00 am to help out at a dog agility competition. Trust me, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it either, but when Bennett’s obedience teacher said she needed help with a competition at her house guess who signed up to volunteer. ME!

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I guess maybe people walking around with their dogs, tote bags thrown over shoulders filled with water bottles, treats, etc. Boy was I wrong! There were folks setting up tents at 7:30 and rolling carpets out for their precious pooches to lie on (heaven forbid they sit on the grass). Truth be told, if I could roll out a carpet for Bennett to sit on whenever she was outside I probably would.


I took our new NCSU office camera with me so that I could begin to learn what all the fancy buttons did. As I walked around and snapped pictures I began chit-chatting (hard to believe, I know) with people. One woman had been competing for about 20 years and her granddaughter had been showing dogs in agility for 7 years! Did I mention the granddaughter was only 14?! Another lady was telling me about her dogs when I noticed a picture of a dog on her shirt. She explained that was a picture of her smooth coated collie that’s been doing agility for several years. That’s right; she made a shirt with a picture of her dog on the front!




As I walked around with my super huge new camera I started to feel a bit like a celebrity. I actually had one lady come up and request I snap a few pictures with she and her dog. I didn’t mind, of course and began having more fun taking pictures of dogs and their owners. It was fun getting action shots of the dogs jumping over hurdles, but snapping moments of the relationship between person and pooch allowed me to capture something really special :)

 












It was a fun (and random) event for a Saturday and it made me feel good to see there are other people crazier about their dogs than me!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

All the little chicks with their crimson lips go "Cleveland rocks!", "Cleveland rocks!" ~The Drew Cary Show

What do you do when a girlfriend’s having a relationship crisis 600 miles away? You call up another girlfriend, buy plane tickets and catch a flight to Cleveland!

We arrived in Cleveland last Friday afternoon. Beth picked us up and presented us with the options of a Backstreet Boys concert or an Indian’s baseball game. As tempting as a concert was, we opted to watch a sport we all knew little about for a chance to eat junk food and talk girl talk.







After the game Beth took us to one of the hot-spots in downtown Cleveland. We very quickly learned that “a restaurant is only as good as its patio” in this city. Beth explained that it’s so cold for so much of the year that everyone spends as much time as possible outside during the summer. We ate at a Mexican restaurant for dinner and for dessert went to a place call Chocolate Bar. Kacie and I decided to split a S’mores plate. We had our own mini “campfire” and everything!



 
The next day Beth took us to a place called Melt that specialized in grilled cheese! They also had a wide selection of creamed sodas, root beers and other fun flavored bottled drinks. However, the most awesome addition… a leg lamp! Who knew A Christmas Story was filmed in Cleveland?














Next on the agenda: naps, walking the dogs and off to the movies. Kacie’s birthday had been earlier in the week and Beth picked up a bottle of wine for her. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t have enough free time in our packed schedule to share it, so what do three brilliant women in a time crunch do? Pack it in a large purse with plastic cups and take it to the movies. 



After watching Eat Pray Love we headed to a section of Cleveland called “little Italy.” After watching a movie where 1/3 of it revolves around food Italian was the perfect idea! The patio here was awesome. Red Christmas lights were strung up outside and on the balcony of the restaurant there where two guys playing piano and saxophone. During dinner the owner came and talked with us, and after a little wooing with our charming southern accents he ordered tiramisu with fresh strawberries for us. YUM!
 

After dinner we went home to pack. Our girl’s weekend in Cleveland was coming to an end and although Kacie and I were excited about getting back to babies and Bennetts we sure were going to miss Beth and Cleveland.